Green Card Backlog Tracker
F-3 Priority Date for Mexico
Updated for August 2026 · 25.0-year backlog · +30 days moved in 12 months · 1 retrogression since 2015
This page tracks the F-3 (Married Children of US Citizens) cutoff date for applicants chargeable to Mexico, using the chart USCIS designated for adjustment-of-status filers each month. History runs from October 2015 to August 2026 — 131 monthly bulletins.
Where the line is right now
F-3 · Mexico · August 2026
July 15, 2001
If your priority date is before July 15, 2001, your category is current for August 2026 under the Dates for Filing chart.
USCIS designated the Dates for Filing chart for family-sponsored adjustment-of-status filings in August 2026. That designation changes month to month, and it determines which cutoff actually governs when you can file.
How fast the line is moving
| Window | Cutoff then | Cutoff now | Total movement | Average pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 6 months | July 1, 2001 | July 15, 2001 | +14 days | +2 days/month |
| Last 12 months | June 15, 2001 | July 15, 2001 | +30 days | +2 days/month |
| Last 24 months | June 15, 2001 | July 15, 2001 | +30 days | +1 day/month |
At the pace of the last 12 months — about 2 days of movement per month — the line would take roughly 305 more years to clear its current 25.0-year gap. That is arithmetic on past movement, not a projection: demand, per-country caps and annual visa supply all change.
Movement is measured only between months that used the same chart type. USCIS publishes one designated chart per month, so comparing a Final Action cutoff against a Dates for Filing cutoff would overstate or understate movement. Months where the chart switched are excluded from these figures.
Has it moved backward?
The cutoff for Mexico has moved backward 1 times since October 2015. When that happens, people who were eligible to file stop being eligible.
- May 2016 — moved backward from May 1, 1995 to October 8, 1994, a loss of 205 days.
The last 24 bulletins
| Bulletin month | Cutoff date | Chart in use |
|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | July 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| July 2026 | July 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| June 2026 | July 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| May 2026 | July 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| April 2026 | July 1, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| March 2026 | July 1, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| February 2026 | July 1, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| January 2026 | July 1, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| December 2025 | July 1, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| November 2025 | July 1, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| October 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| September 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| August 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| July 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| June 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| May 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| April 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| March 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| February 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| January 2025 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| December 2024 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| November 2024 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| October 2024 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
| September 2024 | June 15, 2001 | Dates for Filing |
Full history back to October 2015 is tracked — 131 monthly bulletins in total.
What a priority date actually is
Your priority date is the day your sponsoring relative properly filed the immigrant petition on your behalf. It is your place in line, and it never changes.
Every month the State Department publishes a cutoff date for each category and country of birth. When the cutoff passes your priority date, a visa number is available to you. Because the law caps how many green cards any one country can receive per year, applicants born in high-demand countries wait far longer than the worldwide line for the exact same category.
Country of birth is what matters — not citizenship, not where you live now. That single fact is why two colleagues doing identical work at the same company can be years apart in the same queue.
This page is information, not legal advice. It reports published government data and nothing more. Cutoff dates move unpredictably and individual cases turn on facts this page cannot know. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed immigration attorney.
Sources
Cutoff dates from USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Charts, August 2026 edition, which republishes the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin. History compiled from 131 monthly USCIS bulletin pages (October 2015–August 2026). Chart type is recorded as published; where a source page did not state it, it is marked rather than assumed. See How We Research.